Whalley Church of England Primary School
Church Lane, Whalley, Clitheroe, BB7 9SY
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 5 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Headteacher
- Mr Richard Blackburn
- Diocese
- Diocese of Blackburn
- Constituency
- Pendle and Clitheroe
- Setting
- Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 315
- Pupils on roll
- 315
- URN
- 119429
- Local authority
- Lancashire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01254823348
About this school
Whalley Church of England Primary School is a Church of England voluntary aided primary school in Clitheroe. It teaches children aged 5 to 11 and has 315 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 1 December 2021, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 46 | 44 | 43 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 63% | 77% | 81% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 11% | 7% | 12% |
| Expected standard in reading | 72% | 86% | 88% |
| Expected standard in maths | 80% | 89% | 88% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 87% | 89% | 91% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 105.0 | 106.0 | 108.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 106.0 | 106.0 | 107.0 |
| Reading progress | +0.90 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +2.20 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +2.00 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Whalley Church of England Primary School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Lancashire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 63% | 58.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 77% | 58.3% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 81% | 58.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 313 |
| 2023/24 | 314 |
| 2024/25 | 310 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Whalley Church of England Primary School compares
Whalley Church of England Primary School ranked 41st of 445 primary schools in Lancashire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 89% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 85% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 81% | 4% | 7.7% | 315 | — |
| Langho and Billington St Leonards Church of England Primary School | 91% | 3.6% | 4.6% | 307 | 1.4 miles |
| Barrow URC Primary School | 73% | 4% | 6.2% | 206 | 1.5 miles |
| St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, Langho | 71% | 3.8% | 6.5% | 274 | 2.1 miles |
| Great Harwood St Bartholomew's Parish Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School | 59% | 4% | 32.3% | 180 | 2.2 miles |
| St Hubert's Roman Catholic Primary School, Great Harwood | 54% | 3.9% | 11.5% | 137 | 2.2 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 7.74%
- English as an additional language
- 1.6%
- Overall absence
- 3.99%
- Persistent absence
- 4.85%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Langho and Billington St Leonards Church of England Primary School1.4 miles
Primary · Blackburn
-
Barrow URC Primary School1.5 miles
Primary · Clitheroe
-
St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, Langho2.1 miles
Primary · Blackburn
-
Great Harwood St Bartholomew's Parish Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School2.2 miles
Primary · Blackburn
-
St Hubert's Roman Catholic Primary School, Great Harwood2.2 miles
Primary · Blackburn
Other schools in Clitheroe
Whalley Church of England Primary School ranks 3rd of the 12 ranked primary schools in Clitheroe.
- Barrow URC Primary School Primary
- Bolton by Bowland Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School Primary
- Chatburn Church of England Primary School Primary
- Clitheroe Brookside Primary School Primary
- Clitheroe Pendle Primary School Primary
- Edisford Primary School Primary
- Gisburn Primary School Primary
- Grindleton Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School Primary
- Slaidburn Brennands Endowed Primary School Primary
- St James' Church of England Primary School, Clitheroe Primary
- St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School, Hurst Green Primary
- St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, Sabden Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Whalley Church of England Primary School teach?
- Whalley Church of England Primary School teaches children aged 5 to 11. It is a primary school in Clitheroe.
- Who is the headteacher of Whalley Church of England Primary School?
- The headteacher of Whalley Church of England Primary School is Mr Richard Blackburn, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Whalley Church of England Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Whalley Church of England Primary School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How big is Whalley Church of England Primary School?
- Whalley Church of England Primary School has 315 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 5 to 11.
- Is Whalley Church of England Primary School full?
- Whalley Church of England Primary School has capacity for 315 pupils and 315 on roll (100%), so it is at or above its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Whalley Church of England Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. Whalley Church of England Primary School is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Blackburn.
- Does Whalley Church of England Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Whalley Church of England Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- How have Whalley Church of England Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 63% in 2022/23 and 81% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Whalley Church of England Primary School rank locally?
- Whalley Church of England Primary School ranked 41st of 445 primary schools in Lancashire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 89% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 85% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Whalley Church of England Primary School's absence rate?
- Whalley Church of England Primary School's overall absence rate is 4% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Whalley Church of England Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Whalley Church of England Primary School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 30 June 2026.